Wire connector for range receptacles



Nov. 17, 1953 M. SHELDON WIRE CONNECTOR FOR RANGE RECEPTACLES Fi led May 4, 1951 \nventor": Luther" M. Shehdon,

His A-t-t: neg.

Patented Nov. 17,1953

WIRE CONNECTOR FOR RANGE RECEPTAGLES Luther M. Sheldon, Edgewood, R; L, assignorto Monowatt, Inc., a corporation of Connecticut ApplicationMay 4, 1951, Serial No. 224,563

4 Claims. 1

Z'Ihisinvention relates to range receptacles and,

A range receptacle is thatxtype of: electrical outlet usually'havingthree female openings for the. reception ofa male plug of an electric range. Electricranges draw high current and commonly are poweredby22'0 volts, consequently the elec trical'conductorsiconnected in a range receptacle are of a heavy rigid type wire that is difficult to bend.

Accordingly; it is a feature" of this invention to provide an improved wire connector which is par 'conductor'will be positioned securely by tightening' a si'nglescrew.

.Further objects and'advantages of this invention will become apparent'and the invention'will be more clearly understood from the following description, referring to the accompanying drawing, and the features ofnovelty which characterize this invention will be pointed out with particularity in "the claims annexed to and form'- ing apart of this specification.

Briefly, thisinvention relates to an improved wire connector which is peculiarly adapted'for positioning on an electric range receptacle. The connector ,comp'risesa prong contacting portion, a baseportiori, and a clamping portion movable in guides furnished by the'base'portion, thereby avoidingthe necessity'of holding the clamping portion while it is being tightened against an electrical conductor.

'While, for'thepurpose'of this description, the new and improved electrical connector is described in relation to a range receptacle, it is to be understood that such use has" been chosen primarily as an example to point out more clearly the use andadaption of thiswire connector for connecting heavy electrical conductors.

Referring to the drawing, Fig. 1 is a-perspective view of a range receptacle having the cover removed; Fig. 2 is a perspectiveview of the new and improved wire connector; while Fig. 3 is.a perspective view of the disassembled wire connector.

In the drawing, a range receptacle l is shown comprising a base 2 and a cover 3. The base is a molded phenol resin having a plurality of grooves. and bosses thereon adapted to position a plurality of wireconnectors land to engage the: cover .3. Forexamplea boss'- 5 is shown positioned onzthe face of thebase. 2 to provide an outerboundary. of a pair'of recessed sockets 6 that each hold one of the wire connectors, for

in particular, to. a new and improved wire conne'ctor therefore example connectori l, to preventthem from turning. Another receptacle! isprovided by theboss B'to definethe socket for the third wire con'- nector which is usedwith this range receptacle. The boss 5 serves a' dual capacity, since inaddi tion to providing a. boundary for the sockets 6, .it furnishes a guide 9 which cooperates with the underside of a lip it on the cover to align the cover 3 for matching relationship with the base 2. To achievethis'same end, another boss H is provided onithe base 2 and itsunder side l2 cooperates withthe top surface of'raised lip or member I 3 on'the'coverportion 3. The combina tion of the interaction of the top surface of the guide 9 with the under surface of the lip l0 and the under surface l2 of the boss I l with the upper surface of the raised lip [3 provides a guide structureon either side of the base 2 which assures the matching fit between the cover 3 and base 2. The raised portion M on the base 2 furnishes an outer periphery that is engageable with the inner periphery l5 of the cover 3 to align the cover 3 and the base 2 after they have been fitted together to prevent any twisting of the cover relative to the base whereupon a single screw (not shown) is all'that is required to hold the cover in contact with thebase.

A metal plate It comprises a pair of intersecting sides to form the bottom of the range receptacle and to provide a connection to the base 2. Plate [6 has a-plurality of knockouts I! in both its bottom and rear faces (not shown) to supply an entrance port for a range cable It, which in' this particular embodiment is shown passing, through the rearportion of the plate l6.

Range cable H3, in a'usual embodiment, coinprises three conductors 2B, 2!, and z'within an insulating sheath. The cable It is brought into the range receptacle and secured by a clamp Hi which in this particular embodiment has a fixed bottom'and a movable top permitting the cable to be inserted'therebetween, whereupon the movable top is clampedonto the fixed bottom to hold the cable lasecurely. The conductors 2e, 2!, and 22 are then fastened respectively to the connectors, l, 23, and i i to connect the" range receptacle for operation.

The connectors, one ofwhich is shown in Figs. Z'and 3; comprisea body'zfi, a clip 25, and a clamp or nut 21. The bodyzt in turn comp-rises a fiat basezll and araised- U-shaped element 28. The flat base 29 is of a size complementary with sockets 6, land it is provided with a threaded bore 30 engageable by a screw tea which is passed through the base 2 of the range receptacle to engage the threaded bore 35. Clip 26 includes a cross'member 3i andapair of spring elements or legs 32,.33, each of which'has a reverse bend portion-to. furnish a snag-free surface for engaging a maleprong of the range plug. The legs;32, 33 have a resiliency tending, to force them. together toinsure good electrical contact with the male element of the range plug.

The tightening of screw 39a rigidly secures the body 25 and the clip 26 to the receptacle base 2 and presses the cross member 3| into engagement with the base 2 to flatten the cross piece 31 and further bias the arms 32 and 33 towards one another. The recesses 6 which are provided by the bosses on the base 2 make it unnecessary to use more than one screw 39a since the recesses prevent any turning or twisting of the body 25; thus a saving in assembly cost is effected.

The U-shaped element 29 of the body 25 has a pair of notches 35 and 39 of a size that accommodate the conductor to be secured by the connector 4. The notches, preferably, are spaced a slight distance from the cross member 3'1 to permit the crimping of the connector, thus giving a strain relief effect as clamp 2'! is tightened. The cross member 31 has a clearance hole 33 which permits the free passage of a screw 39 therethrough to engage the threaded bore of clamp 21.

The clamp 2'! has an angular shape presenting two intersecting faces 99, ll, the former of which is movable within the legs of the U-shaped element 23 in a plane parallel to the cross mem ber 3'1, while the latter face 41 is substantially perpendicular to the face 30 and moves therewith. The face :20 in being tightened against the cross member 3'! secures the conductor with.- in the body 25 while the face 41 prevents the conductor from being squeezed out from the body 25. Consequently, the primary functicn of face ll is that of a guard. The face 45 of clamp 27 has dimensions that are compatible with the space between the legs of the U-shaped meznber 28, and it has a threaded bore i2 therein engageable with the screw 39 to move the clamp towards cross member 31. The particular feature of these inter-relating dimensions is that when the screw 39 is tightened into the bore 42, the clamp 21 cannot turn since it is guided by the legs of the U-shaped element 29. Consequently, it is not necessary to hold the clamp and a conductor can be secured to the connector simply by tightening the screw 39 thereby allowing the free hand to position the conductor.

Essentially, all of the connectors 4, 23, and 24 are identical, except that the direction of the base relative to the U-shaped element 28 is different for each of the three connectors. That is, in one instance, for example the connector 9, the base 29 as shown in Fig. 3 is bent to the right relative to the .U-shaped element 29; while in the, connector 23 the base 29 is bent a complementary distance to the left; and for the connector 24 the base 29 would be bent straight up from the U-shaped element 28.

Modifications of this invention will occur to those skilled in the art and it is desired to be understood, therefore, that this invention is not intended to be limited to the particular embodiment disclosed, but is meant to cover all modifications within the true spirit and scope of this invention. Consequently, this invention is not to be limited to the particular embodiment disclosed.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A wire connector comprising a body, a clamping nut and screw means for securing said clamping nut to said body, said body including a base having means for securing the connector to a supporting surface and a U-shaped element having a clearance hole in the cross member thereof, the legs of said element being for guiding said clamping nut to prevent rotation thereof, said screw means passing through said clearance hole in said cross member to engage said clamping nut to move the same into clamping engagement with said U-shaped element and a notch in each leg of said U-shaped element displaced from the axis of said screw means for receiving an electrical conductor to be clamped between said clamping nut and said cross :member.

2. A wire connector comprising a body, a clamping nut, and screw means for securing said clamping nut to said body, said body having an integral base and U-shaped element with the latter having its open mouth adjacent said base, each of the legs of said U-shaped element having a notch therein displaced from the axis of said screw means to receive an electric conductor, said clamping nut having one face in a plane parallel to the cross member of said U-shaped element with said face having fiat ends engageable wtih the legs of said U-shaped element to hold said nut against rotation.

3. A wire connector comprising a body, a clamping nut, and screw means for securing said clamping nut to said body, said body having an integral base and U-shaped element with the latter having its open mouth adjacent said base, each of the legs of said U-shaped element having :a notch therein displaced from the axis of said screw means to receive an electric conductor, said clamping nut having one face in a plane parallel to the cross member of said U-shaped element with said face having flat ends engageable with the legs of said U-shaped element to hold said nut against rotation, said clamping nut including a second face perpendicular to said first face to hold an electrical conductor in engagement with said notches when said screw means is being tightened.

4. A wire connector comprising a body, a clamping nut and screw means for securing said clamping nut to said body, said body including a base having means for securing the connector to a supporting surface, and a down-turned U- shaped element connected to said base, the cross member of said element having an aperture therein to receive said screw means, said clamping nut being mounted on said screw means between the legs of said element said clamping nut having an end engageable with a leg of said U- shaped element so that the nut is prevented from turning, and a notch in each leg of said U-shaped element displaced from the axis of said screw means for receiving an electrical conductor to be clamped between said clamping nut and said cross member.

LUTHER M. SHELDON.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

